Simmern

Simmern (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪmən]; officially Simmern/Hunsrück) is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde. In the Rhineland-Palatinate state development plan, it is set out as a middle centre.

Geography

Location

Simmern, through whose municipal area the 50th parallel of north latitude runs, lies in the Hunsrück in the so-called Simmerner Mulde (“Simmern Hollow”). The old town centre is found in the valley of the Simmerbach, while the newer neighbourhoods are spread over the surrounding heights. The Külzbach empties into the Simmerbach on the town’s western outskirts. East of the town is a recreational area with a manmade lake, the Simmersee. South of the town is the town forest, which forms the edge of the Soonwald, a heavily wooded section of the west-central Hunsrück.

The municipal area measures 1 196 ha. Of interest to visitors are Simmern’s value as a nature and leisure site, and its central location right near three rivers, the Moselle, the Rhine and the Nahe, each about 25 km away, allowing easy day trips to other nearby places.

Simmern, Westerwaldkreis

Simmern is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

The community lies in the Westerwald east of Koblenz on the edge of the Nassau Nature Park. The village is characterized by agriculture and commuters to the nearby greater centre of Koblenz. The community belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.

Neighbouring communities

Simmern’s neighbours are Neuhäusel, Koblenz, Montabaur, Eitelborn, Urbar, Vallendar and Kadenbach.

History

In 1198, Simmern had its first documentary mention as Sevenburnen.

Politics

Community council

The council is made up of 17 council members, including the extraofficial mayor (Bürgermeister), who were elected in a municipal election on 13 June 2004.

Coat of arms

The wavy embattled (in the heraldic sense) pale with seven battlements in the community’s arms refers to the placename Simmern, whose original name of Sevenburnen can be taken to mean “seven springs, wells, cisterns”. The red cross refers to Simmern’s allegiance to the Electorate of Trier until 1803 and the golden lion to its allegiance to the Duchy of Nassau from 1815 to 1866.

Simmern (Verbandsgemeinde)

Simmern is a Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Simmern.

The Verbandsgemeinde Simmern consists of the following Ortsgemeinden ("local municipalities"):

Coordinates: 49°58′59″N 7°31′01″E / 49.983°N 7.517°E / 49.983; 7.517